York residents have complained of being left in the dark after street lights were removed without an explanation.

City of York Council said that old and condemned lamp posts were removed in areas across the city because they were dangerous.

The Labour-led council admitted it should have explained the situation to residents and told them when the lights would be replaced.

It said the lamp posts would be replaced as a priority in January.

Dafydd Williams, Labour councillor for communities, said the situation on a street in Haxby had been particularly hard for residents.

'Feeling unsafe'

"The difficulty in Old Orchard, Haxby is that there is such a high number of lights that have been condemned," he said.

"[The council] should have spotted that so many lights were being removed here and talked to local residents just to let them know what's happening and when they're going to be put back."

Ian Cuthbertson, Liberal Democrat councillor for Haxby and Wigginton ward, said residents were concerned about safety.

He said: "There's a difficult bend in the middle of the road at Old Orchard and without lights there's the risk of an accident. Residents are worried about old people on their own feeling unsafe and finding it difficult to walk up and down the road."

'Damaged or worn'

He said ward councillors had not been given any information by the council before the lights were removed.

"We were quite surprised to receive worried and angry phonecalls from residents," said Mr Cuthbertson.

A council spokesman said: "Some street lights in York are over 40 years old and over time have become damaged or worn.

"Over 9,000 steel street lights have been tested since the summer and those which are damaged have been removed."